Well, I got this from five seconds of Googling...
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/job-interview-thank-you-letter-sample-2063957
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/job-interview-thank-you-letter-sample-2063957
Job hunting advice
- Thread starter Sparkle Fabulosa
- Start date
That seems like really quaint advice, and a little bit desperate. I always thank the interviewer when they ring to give feedback, but a written thank you is a bit much. You’re either appointable or you’re not, and if another position became vacant, it’s your skills, experience, and interview performance that counts. Good manners won’t put you ahead of a better candidate.
But might they help give you the edge over an equally-qualified candidate? Isn’t that the goal, to make yourself stand out from a sea of similarly-qualified people?
In my experience, around here, anyway, they only call you if they want you to do more interviews, or they want to extend an offer. Rejection only warrants a form letter. No one calls just to give feedback.
In fact, if the position is in any way customer-service related, showing that you have the social graces may give you the edge over someone who has more technical expertise but lacks social grace.
I've been in a position that requires some social grace for twelve years now, and in that time we've had at least two people not ultimately work out because they were whip-smart but they didn't know how to work with management. They reached a point where they simply weren't going to get promoted or make any real career progress unless they developed the social skills.
I'm not currently involved in the hiring process, but if I was, then all things being equal, or nearly-so, someone who makes a distinct effort to thank us for the interview would have an advantage over someone who did not.
To be clear, I don't consider myself a people person and I kind of roll my eyes at this stuff myself...but if you're serious about looking for a job, then suck it up and do the stupid little things that could give you an advantage. And if you're not willing to do the stupid little things, then at least admit to yourself that you're not really that serious about it.
I've been in a position that requires some social grace for twelve years now, and in that time we've had at least two people not ultimately work out because they were whip-smart but they didn't know how to work with management. They reached a point where they simply weren't going to get promoted or make any real career progress unless they developed the social skills.
I'm not currently involved in the hiring process, but if I was, then all things being equal, or nearly-so, someone who makes a distinct effort to thank us for the interview would have an advantage over someone who did not.
To be clear, I don't consider myself a people person and I kind of roll my eyes at this stuff myself...but if you're serious about looking for a job, then suck it up and do the stupid little things that could give you an advantage. And if you're not willing to do the stupid little things, then at least admit to yourself that you're not really that serious about it.
It is. Thank them in a follow-up email and express continued interest.
Usually, yes. You want a nice person that gets along with everyone. Emphasis on usually. Sometimes, on occasion, you need to hire a jerk. The key is to weed out the cruel, or the narcissistic, from the merely dickish. As in "this guy is unlikable, but he takes responsibility for his mistakes and he doesn't seem to relish axing employees but is comfortable with the necessity of it".
Culture and fit can be a fine line. You don't necessarily want a bunch of people pleasers either, even in sales. In management, the only thing worse than a people pleaser is a narcissist. The former is often indecisive the latter are a walking disaster of lies and deflection.
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Maybe, but I can't think of any time where it was ever a deciding factor in a real life hire. Usually it came down to background (I don't mean qualifications, if you're over/underqualified you're not getting interviewed) and personality fit. You'd have to write one hell of a letter for it to weigh significantly against all that.
By that, I don't mean kissing my ass. I mean "we talked about this thing during the interview, I bombed the question, went home and did my homework and here's how I was wrong" and then give a correct answer kind of thing. That's impressive as hell and I've only seen it happen once. He was getting hired anyway...
So I’ve found a site that looks pretty good for Word and Excel courses but I’m confused about which version to do: 2007, 2010, 2013, or 2016?
Which is most commonly used in businesses? I only used Word 2007 at home.
Also the 2016 courses are just one course and not split up into introduction, intermediate, and advanced.
Which is most commonly used in businesses? I only used Word 2007 at home.
Also the 2016 courses are just one course and not split up into introduction, intermediate, and advanced.
Honestly, 2007 and up will all be pretty similar. They all sport the tabbed UI and are a big break from prior versions. 2013 is still very common and about the only thing 2016 has over it is better cloud synching.
So...it doesn't really matter, but if 2013 is the latest version with 3 courses, do that and skim the 2016 course.
To be honest, the 5 big parts of Word are basic formating, pagination, table of contents, citations and mail merge. If you are even vaguely familiar with all those you're at at or above the 95th percentile of users.
That, and knowing how to use spell check. That thing is getting pretty aggressive about writing style lately.
So...it doesn't really matter, but if 2013 is the latest version with 3 courses, do that and skim the 2016 course.
To be honest, the 5 big parts of Word are basic formating, pagination, table of contents, citations and mail merge. If you are even vaguely familiar with all those you're at at or above the 95th percentile of users.
That, and knowing how to use spell check. That thing is getting pretty aggressive about writing style lately.
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^ Bingo - focus on the essentials. A fair bit of Word hasn't changed that much over the years (until you go WAY back).
Apparently the Microsoft courses are $900! No thanks. So I found the Microsoft online training center where they have little tutorials. I’m going to do that instead.
If one is looking for work, often it's actually easier if one has a job already, also one can see if other industries need your skillset. I worked in aviation, but we needed a documentation clerk regularly to keep our technical manuals up-to-date..lots of filing etc. was required. Just a bug in your ear.
Yeah. But some companies want to keep their staff. If other companies offer better condititions, they can't stop people from changing their jobs. In my case I have to be content to get a job at all. No one wants to travel this far out. More than three hours per day in buses and trains is not fun. Not to mention the amount of costs for public transportation.
Regarding thank you notes after the interview, I have been on several hiring committees and can say that thank you emails/cards never made any difference. An actual hand written letter/card came off as trying too hard. Emails are fine, but didn't really impress me much. They didn't hurt, but they didn't help.
But, this was the public sector. Candidates were graded according to specific criteria, and "thank you note" was not one of the criteria we were to consider. It was entirely about the person's qualifications for the position.
We also weren't supposed to heavily consider "fit" or personality. It was explained to us that taking these types of subjective things into consideration leads to discrimination. Saying someone is not a "good fit" for your team is giving in to your unconscious biases. Why are they not a good fit? Because they aren't the same gender? They are part of a different culture? They have a physical need that would get in the way? Or they just didn't fit the image you had in your head? People don't make these judgments consciously, and sometimes personality really does matter for building a good team, but relying too much on these sorts of factors when hiring can lead to an office that is a little too homogeneous, leaving out those who may have been excellent employees but weren't considered because of things entirely out of their control.
Anyway...I wish you the best of luck with finding your new career. I recently went through a job search myself (I had a job, but wanted to change fields entirely), and it can be demoralizing at times. But your time will come - it may require extra patience, but it will happen for you!
But, this was the public sector. Candidates were graded according to specific criteria, and "thank you note" was not one of the criteria we were to consider. It was entirely about the person's qualifications for the position.
We also weren't supposed to heavily consider "fit" or personality. It was explained to us that taking these types of subjective things into consideration leads to discrimination. Saying someone is not a "good fit" for your team is giving in to your unconscious biases. Why are they not a good fit? Because they aren't the same gender? They are part of a different culture? They have a physical need that would get in the way? Or they just didn't fit the image you had in your head? People don't make these judgments consciously, and sometimes personality really does matter for building a good team, but relying too much on these sorts of factors when hiring can lead to an office that is a little too homogeneous, leaving out those who may have been excellent employees but weren't considered because of things entirely out of their control.
Anyway...I wish you the best of luck with finding your new career. I recently went through a job search myself (I had a job, but wanted to change fields entirely), and it can be demoralizing at times. But your time will come - it may require extra patience, but it will happen for you!
As the second most-senior person on a team of four (and the person who's been on the team the longest; my current manager was brought in from elsewhere), if we were looking to add a new person I would absolutely consider (not necessarily in this order) a) whether I thought they'd mesh well with the existing team, and b) whether they seemed to have the people skills to go with the tech knowledge needed to succeed at the job.
And if there were two candidates who both seemed to qualify under (a) and (b) and one sent a thank-you note while the other did not? The thank-you note would make a difference.
And if there were two candidates who both seemed to qualify under (a) and (b) and one sent a thank-you note while the other did not? The thank-you note would make a difference.
I’ve seen fit used to exclude strong candidates. I was on a panel interviewing for an admin position and a young autistic guy gave the most precise, comprehensive, and well prepared responses to our questions, but because he wouldn’t bring much to the giggle girls clique he was excluded on grounds of fit.
Shameful.
Shameful.
I tend to agree that “fit” shouldn’t really be much of a consideration. As @Spot's Meow mentioned, such things lead to a homogeneous workplace without the diversity of backgrounds and experiences that employers should be driving towards.
So I do think the example @Butters gave is kind of shameful. But then I also feel the the casual denigration of female co-workers from the example also qualifies as such.
So I do think the example @Butters gave is kind of shameful. But then I also feel the the casual denigration of female co-workers from the example also qualifies as such.
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